UBS, the banking giant still reeling from an extraordinary rogue trading scandal, recorded another tumble in profits today and said it was cautious about global markets.
The Swiss firm, which has a large presence in London, made £560 million in the first quarter, less than half what it recorded a year ago.
It is cutting back its investment banking arm and shifting to focus on wealth management for rich individuals, a move causing considerable uncertainty among staff. Many are said to be looking for exit routes, but jobs in the City are thin on the ground.
Last year UBS revealed it had been hit by £1.4 billion of losses relating to supposed “rogue” trades by Kweku Adoboli, a high-flying dealer on the bank’s elite Delta One desk. He is being held on remand ahead of a fraud trial that begins on September 3. He denies the charges. The lower profits this time were blamed on losses at the investment bank and accounting charges on its own debt.
The bank said it was cautious about coming months because of worries over the continuing debt crisis in the eurozone as well as the US deficit.
Global uncertainty was also a cause for concern, the bank said.
